The Egyptian Tarot

Secrets Decoded

The spreads

The Ways of Thoth

In this type of spread the focus is on acceptance
of the shadow, the dark side of every thing, every
matter, every person, every condition. As mentioned
at the start of the book, this was of the highest importance
for the Egyptians, since they built their basic thinking
upon day and night, upon living and dying.

The Major Arcana consists of twenty-one cards plus
the card of the Initiate, giving twenty-two depictions.
If we should imagine that we are in a temple where
we can see eleven pictures on the one side; and then
on the other side a further eleven facing them, thus
each picture has its counterpart. Consequently two
pictures, facing each other, always belong together.
And - depending on the starting point - one picture
represents a statement on the light side, the other
on the dark side. Depending on which picture you start
with, the picture facing always represents the shadow,
the dark side, the inner complement. The whole decoration
of the temple would thus depict the cycle of pictures
which the seekers approach. Picture by picture they
are then studied or meditated on. It is always of importance
to relate the picture pairs to each other. When the
seeker concentrates on a picture, the picture then
represents the light side, positive aspects, the picture
at his back meanwhile expressing the dark, speaking
of the hidden, that is unseen by the eyes which are
directed towards the front. If the seeker turns around
and looks at the picture opposite, then everything
reverses; the dark has now become the light and the
light has now transformed into the dark.

It is important to really get to know and remember
the sequence of cards located opposite each other by
noting the card names and numbers, thus allowing us
to understand this cycle better. As the pairs become
more familiar; you can recognize which stages of development
particularly complement each other, which simply belong
together.

Card Pairs

I The Magician

O/XXII The Initiate

II The High Priestess

XXI The Universe

III The Pharaoh Queen

XX Resurrection

IV The Pharaoh King

XIX The Sun

V The High Priest

XVIII The Moon

VI The Two Ways

XVII The Magic Star

VII The Chariot of Osiris

XVI The Tower

VIII The Scales of Conscience

XV Demon

IX The Hermit

XIV The Two Urns

X Sphinx

XIII The Threshold

XI Strength

XII The Hanging One

This provides the following list of complementary cards:

Light Side

Dark Side

The Magician (I)

The Initiate (O/XXII)

The High Priestess (II)

The Universe (XXI)

The Pharaoh Queen (III)

Resurrection (XX)

The Pharaoh King (IV)

The Sun (XIX)

The High Priest (V)

The Moon (XVIII)

The Two Ways (VI)

The Magic Star (XVII)

The Chariot of Osiris (VII)

The Tower (XVI)

The Scales of Conscience (VIII)

Demon (XV)

The Hermit (IX)

The Two Urns (XIV)

Sphinx (X)

The Threshold (XIII)

Strength (XI)

The Hanging One (XII)

The Hanging One (XII)

Strength (XI)

The Threshold (XIII)

Sphinx (X)

The Two Urns (XIV)

The Hermit (IX)

Demon XV

The Scales of Conscience (VIII)

The Tower (XVI)

The Chariot of Osiris (VII)

The Magic Star (XVII)

The Two Ways (VI)

The Moon (XVIII)

The High Priest (V)

The Sun (XIX)

The Pharaoh King (IV)

Resurrection (XX)

The Pharaoh Queen (III)

The Universe (XXI)

The High Priestess (II)

The Initiate (0-XXII)

The Magician (I)

Each light card now has its dark side, which, however,
expresses nothing essentially negative. It is simply
a matter of accepting the shadow side as a subconscious
element that supports one, an intrinsic developmental
power. The ‘Demon’ may thus well represent
the light, conscious factors. Whoever draws this card,
also simultaneously draws ‘The Scales of Conscience’.
It is only cards representing light sides that are
drawn. If this should be the Demon, it means that a
powerful but as yet unfocused power or energy is involved,
the application of which has to be weighed up precisely.
Whoever draws ‘The Magic Star’ as being
a light feature, has to consider that on the shadow
side ‘Two Ways’ are open, or: the subconscious
makes it clear that a decision needs to be made if
The Magic Star is to truly shine in full glory.

Whoever draws ‘The Resurrection’, the
revival of energies after (say) some sort of defeat,
has to be aware that the shadow power warns of the
need to master any everyday, earthly events and happenings
which arise (The Pharaoh Queen). If ‘The Hermit’,
say, is drawn as a light element stating that this
person wishes to withdraw into himself, then the dark
side is also involved; that means that happiness is
not only to be found within oneself. The Hermit has
to realize that the blessing of the creator also belongs
to the deal. If we wish to withdraw, we should not
simply shut ourselves off completely from our surroundings;
we should realize that the Divine continues to guide
and lead us, even if it is in an esoteric sense. For
the ‘Ways of Thoth’ spread we need eight
cards in total; when we lay this spread, card eight
(using the arabic numerals for counting the sequence)
is then ‘Thoth’s Advice’ to us. There
is only one variation of the spread and it should if
possible not be modified.

The first three cards should be selected face-down.
Of course they could also be selected face-up, but
this causes the problem that many people who already
know this tarot version or use it frequently already
know the complementary card or the counterpart and
thus know where their shadow sides lie.

Whoever does not know the pack and spread can select
the cards face-up. After each card selected (face-up
or face-down) the counsellor takes out the counterpart
card and lays it alongside at an appropriate later
point. The cards are then shuffled once more and the
second card drawn, the counterpart being taken out
by the advisor and so on.

The Spread:

Card 1The Situation

Complementary Card for 1
X

Card 2 The Wish

Complementary Card for 2
X

Card 3 The Fear

Complementary Card for 3
X

Card 4 The Reality

Complementary Card for 4 Thoth's Advice

In practice this means that the first card chosen
describes the personal Situation of the querent. The
complementary card explains this further. The second
card drawn or chosen describes the querent’s
Wish which is then elucidated by the complementary
card. The third card reflects the anxieties involved,
the Fear, which is then illuminated by the complementary
card once more. Card four will then show the overall
context as the Reality, the complementary card to which
is ‘Thoth’s advice’, which should
now be followed for the near future.

Three cards are selected from the newly shuffled cards
placed face-down on the table at random. It helps if
querents are made aware that it is their shadow, their
valuable and creative dark side, which selects the
cards. The querent’s feeling for the cards is
thus made more acute; and it is also good if the middle
finger of the left hand is used to point at the cards
because there is a certain serendipity, an ability
to make unexpected and beneficial chance discoveries,
in doing so.

The finger passes close over the cards, the querents
perhaps sensing that one card sends out more warmth,
another a cold feeling. It really does not matter here
if such sensations are proven or not; it is exclusively
a matter of the intense concentration of the querent.
It is also of no importance whether the querent has
previously explained her/his problem or not. The tarot
counsellor should grasp the situation on the basis
of the cards. Naturally a lot of practice and also
experience are required here. Once card 1 has been
selected, the one showing the Situation, it is also
possible for the querent to speak about this until
the querent becomes fully aware of the complementary
or shadow card to it. (The card reader knows - after
a period of familiarity - which shadow cards belong
to which light cards.) The Situation in total, however,
is first really discussed with the querent taking the
light and the dark cards together, before moving on
to the Wish. This in turn is documented with two cards
and subsequently leads by the same process to recognizing
the Fear. The wish and the fear are mostly closely
connected, since every wish can generate a fear or
anxiety.

Just a few more points regarding the light and dark
sides are provided below. These statements are, however,
by no means enough for the interpretation. (Click on
any card for a larger size.)

Card Pair

Focus

I - O/XXII

The Magician has to accept that a lack of knowledge,
awareness or insight is present within him

II - XXI

The High Priestess is only
striving towards the Universe, but does not yet
possess it

III - XX

The duties and obligations of the everyday
world should not darken our view of what will
follow in future

IV - XIX

Whatever dominates or rules must never shut
out or suppress the sun

V - XVIII

The High Priest monitoring others has to set
out on the Way as well

VI - XVII

Doubt must be overcome by love

VII - XVI

Victory may lead to destruction

VIII - XV

Without weighing things up with one’s
conscience the Demon will triumph by having its
way

IX - XIV

The Hermit needs the blessing of the Divine

X - XIII

No risk without daring to cross a new Threshold

XI - XII

He who stands at the peak must be ready for
reversing

XII - XI

Reversing takes all one’s strength

XIII - X

Crossing a new Threshold involves risk

XIV - IX

You only reach the Divine by looking into the
self

XV - VIII

Our Demons must be weighed by our conscience

XVI - VII

Destruction can lead to victory

XVII - VI

Love requires making decisions

XVIII - V

The new way needs an examination of the self

XIX - IV

The power of the Sun desires mastering and
placing under control

XX - III

Resurrection leads to new obligations

XXI - II

The Universe must be protected by the High
Priestess

0 /XXII - I

Insight into one’s own lack of knowledge
and insight wakens magic powers

Card 1

Complement

IV. Pharaoh King

-Light Side Situation

XIX. The Sun

-Shadow Situation

Card 2

Complement

XIII. The Threshold

-Light Side Wish

X. Sphinx

-Shadow Wish

Card 3

Complement

XX. Resurrection

-Light Side Fear

III. The Pharaoh Queen

-Shadow Fear

Card 4

Complement

XV. Demon -

Reality

VIII. The Scales of
Conscience -

Thoth's Advice

Example I

A scientist had got intensively involved with paranormal
studies after his retirement. Before that he had radically
rejected such things for sixty years, but had come
upon astrology because of a dream and due to the encounter
with a woman who was very interested in the subject.
He was then filled with the urge to get to know all
sorts of occult trends. He studied them with an almost
scientific meticulousness and was suddenly confronted
with the question as to whether he should consider
undergoing a reincarnation therapy.

His wife warned him about such a real adventure of
the soul, particularly as there is no guarantee about
the quality of the therapists and thus any person doing
such a reincarnation experiment. That is when he asked
a tarot counsellor.

The first card drawn was The Pharaoh King, describing
the Situation The scientist understood this as a definite ‘yes’,
but the counsellor expressed his opinion as follows: ‘this
looks more like a ‘no’ to me since the
card is in fact stating that you should exercise self-control,
i.e. you ought not to carry out everything that you
want to do; and the shadow seems basically to be saying
that you should remain in your ‘light’ world.’ Everyone
who undertakes a reincarnation work and does regression
under hypnosis has to be clear about the fact: the
experience is impossible to forget.

However, the next card drawn was meant to correspond
to the true Wish - that is the soul’s wish. The
man searched over the cards now much more slowly and
more carefully.

The wish was clear. The Threshold revealed that the
man had the powerful wish to step back in time from
this world and into another world. But the dark shadow
side clearly indicates that it would be difficult subsequently
to find his way back to the light side.

The man thus received the warning when he chose the
third card face-down which reflected his inner fears.

The Resurrection emerged as the Fear card. This indicates
that the querent was really not quite sure as to whether
a true regression would be successful, even if he should
really long for it. The shadow was revealed in card
III, The Pharaoh Queen. The man was asked what his
wife would say to all of this. His reply: ‘I
think she is afraid that it will become more difficult
in our marriage. He had wanted to say ‘still
more difficult’ but corrected it at the last
moment.

Now it was a question of what the fourth card, Reality,
would show. It turned out to be card XV, Demon, with
its shadow card, The Scales of Conscience. He is obsessed
by a really hazardous wish that is driving him on and
has taken hold on him to some extent, a wish that should
be well considered!! Thoth’s advice confirms
this, for the Scales of Conscience does not say ‘no’ but
rather warns that he should do a very intensive self-review.

It is well worth looking at the spread as a whole
below.

Card 1

IV. The Pharaoh King

-Light Side Situation

Complement

XIX. The Sun

-Shadow Situation

Card 2

XIII. The Threshold

-Light Side Wish

Complement

X. Sphinx

-Shadow Wish

Card 3

XX. Resurrection

-Light Side Fear

Complement

III. The Pharaoh Queen

-Shadow Fear

Card 4

XV. Demon

Reality

Complement

VIII. Scales of Conscience

Thoth's Advice

Now one can ponder a bit more deeply on the overall
picture and then it becomes evident that the wish for
the Shadow quite strongly dominates the light side,
the conscious thinking. The Shadow, however, definitely
gives a warning and Thoth’s advice is quite clear.

This advice is always the only decisive factor, by
the way. Even if everything up to then has indicated
that the question would apparently have a positive
answer, Thoth’s advice can turn everything around.
This is naturally true for the reverse situation. If
everything appears to be so-called negative, Thoth’s
advice can guide everything into a positive direction.

Why do we then draw the previous cards? That was a
question repeatedly asked in seminars. The answer is
that in doing so there is a process of intimate self-questioning
involved. Otherwise we could just express a wish and
draw a card. But this way of treating the matter will
hardly lead us and any querents onto the right path.
That is why this spread includes eight cards. The eight
is incidentally the number of the lemniscate, the highest
number in the sense of significance, the very number
of Isis.

As the Major Egyptian Guiding Star is intended to
show the way ahead for a longer time period, it is
a good thing to do some meditating about this final
card. It would also be a good thing for a querent to
place Thoth’s card, i.e. the advice card, somewhere
in his/her home so that he or she can catch sight of
it from time to time.

Card 1

Complement

III. The Pharaoh Queen

-Light Side Situation

XX. Resurrection

-Shadow Situation

Card 2

Complement

XII. The Hanging One

-Light Side Wish

XI. Strength

-Shadow Wish

Card 3

Complement

V. The High Priest

-Light Side Fear

XVIII. The Moon

-Shadow Fear

Card 4

Complement

O-XXII. The Initiate

-Reality

I. The Magician

-Thoth's Advice

Let us turn to one more example:

A young man came for a consultation; he made an intelligent
but rather helpless impression. He tended - according
to what he said - to be rather adventurous, wanted
to travel out into the world, to India and Egypt. However,
his parents saw him alone as the administrator, guardian
and shaper of their inheritance, a rather large company.
In fact the whole matter had already been decided,
since the young man had never able to overcome his
upbringing. So he submitted to his parents.

But there must have been some permanent revolutionary
dwelling in his soul since something in him kept rebelling.
That is how it came to the tarot reading. As the Situation
he chose the Pharaoh Queen from the face-up cards.

The situation showed the domination, the submission
to the system, to the practical administrative tasks.
But in the dark-side there is a permanent slumbering
wish to escape from this, to resurrect as if newly
transformed in order to be able to start something
fresh.

The Wish card was selected:

The wish to turn everything on its head is strongly
anchored in his consciousness and in the dark-side
strength is added to that consciousness. He can tame
the lion, that means in this case the parental authority.
But what is he afraid of?

Answer: he is afraid of the trials to be faced, does
not want to be the prodigal son who has to return,
does not wish to do more that he can cope with. And
in the dark-side this also doubtless means that the
new adventurous life in other parts of the world would
perhaps only attract him for a short time. Now the
fourth card was to decide.

In reality this young man is inwardly a seeker, a
blind person with a risk of slipping over the edge.
Thoth’s advice then goes in the direction of
the querent first having to develop his magic powers,
learning to handle them, and standing only at the very
beginning of a possible new way! The person concerned
was not very enthusiastic about that, but also not
discouraged. He put pressure on his parents until they
gave him three months vacation so that he could have
a look at his India, his Egypt.

From Cairo the young man wrote that he had joined
an archaeological group in Thebes and that he would
need a longer period to establish clarity about his
future way. This hit the parents like a shock, but
what could they do? After two years they accepted the
decision of their eldest son and transferred everything
to his younger brother, having first disinherited the
eldest son of everything but an obligatory share.

For further meditation we have the whole picture below:

Card 1

III. The Pharaoh Queen

-Light Side Situation

Complement

XX. Resurrection

-Shadow Situation

Card 2

XII. The Hanging One

-Light Side Wish

Complement

XI. Strength

-Shadow Wish

Card 3

V. The High Priest

-Light Side Fear

Complement

XVIII. The Moon

-Shadow Fear

Card 4

O-XXII. The Initiate

Reality

Complement

I. The Magician

Thoth's Advice

Whoever feels his way into this eight-card spread
will recognize that all the cards have been selected
in a sequence that makes sense in itself. The mother
rules the situation; the young man wishes to be reborn
and begin completely anew, his soul trusting that he
has the strength to do so. But he stands before the
testing of his conscience, whether he is ready to set
off on his own quite personal and arduous path through
life.